Hi! My name is Jesse, and my mom says I am a "rescue". Not sure what that means, but she said it makes me *special*. All I know is I was in a bad place, seldom fed, and got hit alot, even though I don't know why, and I tried really hard to be a good boy. Then one day I found myself in this concrete jail cell with bars on the front, and I was really scared; you see- at least where I was before, I knew where I was, and what to expect. At this new place, I didn't know anybody, and did not know what to expect, nor how to behave. Soon, this man came and took me out of the "jail", but he took me to a doctor's office and then he left me. Then somebody came and poked me with a sharp thing that stung alot, and then I went to sleep. When I woke up, I didn't feel so good, and I couldn't stand up or move around without feeling pretty icky. I tried to sleep as much as I could so I didn't feel so bad, and didn't have to think about what might happen next. After a while, the man who brought me to this new place came back, and he talked to the 'doctor' person, and then he came to see me. He looked like a nice person, and I hoped I didn't have to be afraid of him, but I wasn't sure, so I stayed quiet. Then he got me out of my cage and carried me to another one, and then we went for a ride, and the man kept talking to me while we rode. Then we stopped! We were over on the side of the road, and I thought he was gonna leave me there- I was so scared I was shaking really bad and curled myself up into a ball so maybe he wouldn't know I was still there. Then the man opened the side of his car, and opened the cage I was in, and I almost gave up hope- he really WAS gonna leave me there, wasn't he? Boy, was *I* surprised when two new people walked over and talked to the man, and then they talked to ME. The shorter person had something in her hand- I could smell it, and it smelled SOOO good! I had to lick her hand, I just couldn't help myself. All of a sudden, the hand opened, and it was full of pieces of cheese! Cheese is GOOD! I *LOVE* cheese! She let me eat ALL of the cheese, and then petted me a little, really gently. I knew she was never going to hurt me, so I let her pet me more. After a while, the other new person walked over to see me, and he had something in his hand that squeaked. He kept trying to get me to take it from him, but it didn't smell like food, so I didn't know what to do. He finally put it down next to me, and then HE PETTED ME TOO! Then I got scared again, cuz the new person was trying to lift me up. I didn't want to be picked up, so I pretended I was a boat anchor and got really really heavy. So the people slid a big warm blanket under me, and then picked up the blanket, with me on it. They walked a little ways, and put me in another car, blanket and all, and then put a brand new bright blue collar and leash on me! I haven't had a new collar or leash since I was a little baby, a long long time ago, before all the bad stuff happened! Guess what happened next!?!? You guessed it- I got more cheese! And some hot dog pieces too! Then we went for another ride. The whole time, I had my head resting on the new lady's hand, and sometimes she would give me more cheese pieces, and I liked that. When the car stopped this time, I let the tall person carry me, and he took me inside a house, where there were two pretty girls waiting to see me- they wanted to PLAY! Can you imagine? The girls were bigger than me, but they weren't all skinny and starved like I was. I didn't feel much like playing yet, so they laid with me and we got to know each other and did our introductions and stuff, then it was time to eat. .... to be continued

So anyway, I found out the two pretty girls were Imani and Frankie. Imani was the older one, and she wasn't any taller than me, but she sure wasn't as skinny as me! Sometimes the people called Frankie "Tater" and I don't know why, but she didn't LOOK like a tater! Frankie was taller, but not as heavy as Imani, and she was my age. When it was time to eat, I was afraid, because when I tried to eat at the *bad place* I was hit with the pan/bowl/plate, whatever I tried to take food off. These new people put food on a plate for me, and warmed it up, but I was afraid to touch it- what if THEY hit me too? So then they put it in a bowl, and I was afraid of that too! Next, they tried a pan, and that wasn't any better. How was I ever gonna EAT? Then, they put the food in an empty pizza box, and BINGO! I finally was not afraid to eat it! And they didn't hit me, either! [to keep this story as short as possible, the feeding issue that was stretched out over a week's time has been condensed into one mealtime. During the week that he would not eat off any type of feeding utensil, Jesse was fed soft food by hand from Kim's fingers several times each day, to show him we could be trusted, and that we wanted him to EAT!] After "time to eat" it was time for me to see where I was gonna sleep. And boy was I TIRED! The people showed me a wire box, that reminded me of the cage I was in in the other person's car, but they called this a "bed" and it had a big soft fluffy cushion in it that covered the whole bottom, and it was bright blinding orange, and really SOFT. There were some things in the "bed" that they called "toys" but I didn't know what I was supposed to do with them, or what they were supposed to do, either. The people put some yummy cheese in the "bed" and then kept putting in more, so that I had to step inside to get them, and finally I was all the way in, and they gave me more cheese, and hot dog pieces, and petted me for a while, and I was so tired I finally laid down and let them keep petting me and feeding me the treats, and finally I was comfortable. My eyes closed, and I was happy. to be continued....

Some time later, I woke up, and it was dark. I must have still been in the "bed" because I was very cozy, but I heard some noise, and it scared me. Somebody was trying to come inside the house! I knew it was my job to warn the new people, so I barked as loud as I could, and then the "somebody" started talking, and telling me to quiet down, and that it was ok, they weren't here to hurt anybody. They came closer to my bed, so I growled ferociously! Suddenly it got very light- then I knew who the "somebody" was! It was the person who carried me into the house earlier in the day! It was "Dad"! He was coming in from something he called "work", not trying to *hurt* anybody. So he let me out to *take care of business*, gave me a cookie, and sent me back to bed. I bet he was happy when he went to his bed that night, because he knew he could count on me to wake him up if somebody broke in, and he knew I could sound very scary to somebody I didn't know.

The next time I woke up, it was light out again, and somebody was coming toward my bed again. Of course, I just woke up, and didn't know where I was or what to expect, so I growled at them, until I saw who it was. It was Kim! (She is very very nice to me.) She let me out of my bed, and I greeted her, Mom, and Imani and Frankie. Dad was still in his bed. Then we went outside to do our business before breakfast. When we came back in, Mom had something for us- she called them vitamins, but I call them yummy! I ate them all right away! When our vitamins were all gone, then we got some banana- I had never had that before, but Imani and Frankie were doing silly tricks to get Mom to give them more, so I knew they must be good. I was right! Bananas are yummy! (Even better than vitamins!) Then we had to sit quietly and wait for Mom to make our breakfast. Waiting is hard! I was excited, so I was jumping up trying to see what she was doing, and to try to get some breakfast before she was done. Kim came to me and helped me to sit quietly (she helped by massaging my whole face and talking quietly to me) so Mom could put our breakfast down for us without getting knocked down, and then we all ate our food. When we were all done, Imani and Frankie got all excited, and were dancing all around in front of the door- they told me we were going for a "walk". I didn't know what that was, but I thought maybe it was a good thing, the way the girls were acting. Kim put my new blue leash on me, and had me sit quietly at the door to wait for Mom and the girls to get ready. Then we all went outside, and over to the side of the grass, and started sniffing along the side of the road. We went to a big pond where there were frogs hopping all around, splashing into the water when we got too close, and birds singing and flying overhead. It was so nice! On the way back, we got to go on the other side of the road, and sniff everything on THAT side, as well.

One day ran into the next, it seemed like I did very little other than eat (all I wanted), and sleep, though I did spend quite a bit of time outside, playing with Frankie, and sometimes Imani. Kim would spend a lot of time with me, when she got home from school, and eventually she and Mom decided to let me try sleeping in Kim's room at night, but still leave my bed where it had been all along, in case I wanted to go there instead. Soon they found I didn't need my other bed, I loved sleeping on my big cozy cushion in Kim's room. When they went to move my crate, they found that I had been secretly hiding my cookies under the cushion in there! They said it looked like I had never eaten even one! So Kim decided to move them into our room, next to my bed, so I could eat them if I wanted, or whatever I wanted to do with them. What they didn't know was that sometimes I would wake up at night, and get all my cookies out and look at them, and think about how good my life was now compared to what it was before, and knew that I would never go to bed hungry ever again, because I had plenty to eat, and still managed to save all those cookies without being even just a little hungry without them. Then I would put the cookies away under my bed again, and go to sleep, dreaming about my new home and family. Some days it would rain, and I would ring the bell on the string on the door to say I wanted to go outside, but once I saw it was raining, I just wanted to stand in the doorway and look outside- Mom said I was a weirdo, but she figured it was because before, I didn't have a choice- I *HAD* to stay outside, whether it was sunny, or rainy, or even snowing and freezing cold. Now I was happy that I had a choice!

Sometimes Frankie had to go away to what Mom called *Puppy Camp*. I don't know what that means, but I was kind of lonely for her when she was gone, and when she came home, we had ALOT of fun making up for lost time. Sometimes Imani would play with me, but she didn't run as fast as Frankie, and didn't like to wrestle with me much either. One day, Mom got up really early, and when Dad got home from work, they both left in Dad's truck. Kim stayed home with Imani and me- Frankie was away at Puppy Camp. Mom and Dad were gone a long time, and when they came home, they brought another girl home with them! That broke my heart- I didn't want this new girl to take my place! I love my new family and my home- why did we need another dog??? Mom said the new girl's name was Maggie, and she was a "foster", but I don't know what THAT means either. I was very sad. Then Kim and I went out in our play yard (the part of the lawn that is fenced, and has a deck, with a ramp instead of stairs for us to go in and out of the house easily) and we saw Mom walking the other dog around behind the house, outside the fence. They walked up to the fence, and Kim and I walked over to see what they were doing. Well guess what?!? Mom had cheese! She kept giving me pieces through the fence, then giving the other dog a piece, and back to giving me some. Well how can you not like somebody when you meet them while having cheese? So, I let Maggie stay. Sometimes I even played tug of war with her, and sometimes I even let her win. I had to! She was an OLD lady! It might have hurt her feelings if I didn't let her win sometimes! I am a sweet guy- I wouldn't want to be responsible for hurting some old lady's feelings. No way! Not me!

We will continue our story as soon as Mom has some free time. Stay tuned! I can give you a clue though- it has a happy ending!

Hi guys! Its me, Jesse. I am back to continue telling you my story. Since it is a cold and rainy day, what could be better than being inside a nice warm home and hearing a happy story about a guy who had some tough times, but has finally hit the lottery, so to speak?

Now, where were we? Oh, yeah- I was telling you about Maggie. So anyway, I let Maggie win some tug of war games. Then one day, Mom, Dad, Kim and Kim's friend Zach started loading up a bunch of stuff into the trucks, and they put Frankie and I in Dad's truck with Dad and Zach, and Maggie and 'Mani in Mom's truck with Mom and Kim. Then we rode for a loooooong time- two hours, Mom said. When we got out, we were at a beautiful park, with little houses on wheels all around, and... You will never believe this! A whole bunch of mastiffs and humans! Yeah, really! There had to have been about 50 mastiffs there with their humans! It was amazing! So we all hung out, had barbecued chicken, baked beans, Mom's Macaroni and cheese (in the crock pot! YUM!) and stuff, and got to visit with the other mastiffs too. I saw the man who brought me to Mom and Dad, and he could not believe I was the same boy he rescued! (I am taller and weigh about 50 lbs more now than I did in May when he saw me last) His name was Don, and he was very nice. He and all the rest of the people belong to a club called Mastiffs Unlimited of NY. So anyway, we had a nice day, and went on a nature walk, where I got overheated and had to get some help to cool off. I was walking Zach, and he sent word to Kim that I was really really hot and vomiting. So she ran back and got me, and rushed me back to the party, where she took me into the shower and tried to get me cooled off, but she said the water was too warm. Imagine that! A shower at a campground that was actually really warm! So, she took me back outside to where there was a spigot for cold water, and kept pouring bowls of cold water on me. It felt really good, and I just sat there and let her cool me off. Soon, it was time to get back in the trucks and go home, and it was getting dark. So after another long ride, we got home, safe in our beds, and another chapter of my story ends.

Want to hear more? Well, ok, one more chapter for today. A few weeks went by, and Mom was all excited, and making phone calls, and talking to people, and typing on her computer. She kept saying something about adoption, and Maggie going to live with a new family someplace called North Carolina. A few days later, somebody knocked on our door. Dad opened it, and in came two humans with another mastiff! His name was Bubba, and he said he came from North Carolina to pick up Maggie, who was going to be his new sister. So they stayed for most of the day, and we all got to hang out together, and I told him all my tricks for playing with Maggie, and letting her win and stuff. Bubba was cool- he was pretty big, and he was brindle, like me!

All too soon, it was time for them to go, and Maggie was happy to be able to go home with them. She thought Bubba was cute! She didn't say so, but she sure was watching every move he made, and if he left the room, she went to see where he went. Silly girl!

So, I started thinking about Maggie coming to live with us, and then going away and living somewhere else, and I suddenly was afraid Mom was gonna make ME go away and live somewhere else too! I did NOT want to have to go away! I was scared, so I was hiding, and chewing stuff I shouldn't cuz I was so nervous, and then Mom figured out what was wrong, and she gave me some extra loving, and told me I had to stay with her forever, cuz she could not live without me, and Frankie needed me too. Kim said I was hers, and nobody was ever going to take me away from her. So now I feel better.

I know now that "foster" means somebody who has a bad life, gets to come stay with us for a while, and learn what life is supposed to be like, then they get a new family and they go live with them. That means they get "adopted". I got "adopted" when I was supposed to be a "foster" myself.

I was really excited when Mom went out to get the mail, and she opened a package, and there were brand new shiny blue tags with my name on them! They say I live here with Mom and Dad and Kim, so if I ever get lost, they can find my Mom and bring me home fast. I don't think I will ever get lost, but it is nice to know that if I do, I will still be able to come back home safely. Frankie's tags are a pretty purple, and match her dress up collar and leash, and Imani's are red and match HER collar and leash. We don't wear our nice dress up collars and tags at home, cuz we like to get all muddy, and we know how to take each others collars off when we play out in the mud. If our tags get muddy, Mom says nobody will be able to read them to know who we are and where we live.

This brings us to today. Today was a special day, because we all had to wake up early, 4 AM, and Frankie and I had to go in Dad's truck with Mom and Dad. We went to see our doctor, and I was a good boy this time, and didn't get scared. When we got there, Mom cuddled me and the doctor did something to my neck that stung a little, like a bee sting. Then Mom kissed me, and then Frankie, and said she had to go, but would be back soon. Then I went to sleep. When I woke up, I could see! My cherry eye was all gone! I didn't feel so good, and was worried until Mom and Dad came back to get us. I cried cuz I could not stand up or walk, even though I tried really hard. Mom helped me walk, she had to hold me under my tummy to make my back legs work. (My doctor thinks I have either pano or hip dysplasia, )(more likely dysplasia, because it is effecting both hips, and one front leg as well. We should know soon though). So anyway, now we are home, and Frankie is still resting, but I had a nice dinner and am feeling much better. I hope Frankie starts feeling better soon, and can play with me again. Mom said we would both feel much better tomorrow.

Just came across the Lost and Found Database of Central NY and thought I would pass along the link. Doesn't seem to be too busy but folks are using it so keep it handy just in case you find someone's furry friend, or sadly you lose yours.

Lost and Found Pet Database of CNY
http://www.rovatune.com/cgi-bin/classifieds/classifieds.cgi